The BIL director with clear expectations of the government before the 2025 budget is presented in Parliament.
In early October, the Minister of Finance will present the government’s proposal for the national budget in the Storting, and the National Association of Bilimportørenes expects both predictability and fairness.
– It is all well and good that more than nine out of ten cars sold in Norway are now emission-free. But in the end, it’s about replacing the old part of the car fleet with new, emission-free cars. To achieve that, we need predictability and a reasonable and fair tax system, says Harald Jachwitz Andersen, director of BIL.
The Information Council for Road Traffic estimates that the proportion of electric cars will be 28 per cent by the end of 2024, and 52 per cent in 2030. Andersen believes that we should have higher targets than this, and that the framework conditions play the main role.
– The time we have behind us, with an abrupt brake in new car sales after the tax changes at the start of 2023, has shown how sensitive the market is to tax changes. Therefore, an increase in VAT or other taxes on cars will be a stick in the wheel for the green transition. We therefore expect that the entry point for VAT on electric cars will remain unchanged in 2025 and that no further purchase taxes will be introduced, he says.
– The Ministry of Finance has previously confirmed that they are in dialogue with ESA about a further VAT exemption for electric cars, so that bodes well, he adds.
The key is powerful, predictable and unbureaucratic incentives
It was not just the value added tax that was the subject then BIL delivered its budget input to political leadership in the Ministry of Finance together with NAF and NBF in May.
If we are to speed up the green shift in road traffic, incentives on the passenger car side will not do. Norway is really behind on the commercial vehicle side, where only one in three vans, and seven percent of heavy trucks, are emission-free.
– We need powerful, predictable and unbureaucratic incentives for commercial vehicles, both in terms of purchase and use. The means we currently have do not tick any of those boxes, and clearly do not have the desired effect. The players in the market are ready, but they cannot do it without help from the authorities, says Andersen.
– We expect a predictable and fair state budget for next year. Ambitious goals must be accompanied by a framework that enables, and does not set limitations, he concludes.